Mini Mushroom Pies and my new writing gigs

Editors note: The following recipe makes 24 mini pies that are meant to served as appetizers one each per person with a salad or a dipping sauce of your choice. It is not a main course or even something that is advised to be used as a snack everyday but something you can truly enjoy in a small quantity. This blog is not a fat-free blog, soy free, or even sugar-free (something I do not really like anyway) but a celebration of food and the art of cooking. One day you would come here and see a salad, next day some strange ice cream. I think that people who write about food, sell food or market food have a public responsibility to not offer unhealthy options often but this blog is not a healthy lifestyles blog it is a blog abt food that happens not to exploit animals and sometimes there is a pie in the mix, a salad or a drink. So to all you vegans out there that are vegans for health reasons good for you…this is not that kinda blog even if I would have recipes that are useful for persons following a low-calorie lifestyle. I am a foodie and this blog represents that without the animal products and if you do not like that, do not read the blog.

Woody, rustic, rich and textured are the many words that people use to describe mushrooms. I remember mushrooms were never consumed when I was growing up in Barbados but one day my father bought a can at that time (as fresh were not available back then) and I was hooked and so was he. My mom …not so much. Since then I tried to introduce my peers to mushrooms by adding them to curries or in rice.

Mushroom Love Copyright Taymer Mason

A few weeks ago a client requested a mushroom pie at the company I work with and because of the volume of work that they had that day they were going to tell the client that it was unavailable. I overheard the convo and I chirped in I can make it. My boss said but you only have 30 minutes before they collect it. I cooly said ” I would have about 5 minutes left to let it cool” I left my desk full of my routine paper work and started to throw flour, fat, salt and sugar in a bowl. I ran down to the ice machine to get some water and the same time grabbed a tin of mushroom and the cooks started to open it for me. In 5 minutes my dough was finished in the blast chiller and I started to make my mushroom filling. My boss sauntered in the kitchen and looked at me and said “you only have 20 minutes Taymer are you sure you can do this?” I said yes it is going into the oven just now…” 10 minutes elapsed my mushroom pie creamy filling was chilling out in the blast chiller and I was rolling my pastry and baking it blind. 15 minutes pie in and covered, brushed and was baking. I washed my hands and went back to my desk. 15 minutes later I got up took out the most beautiful rustic pie I ever saw. Voila! I handed my boss the pie and he just looked up at me wordless. It wasnt one of the biggest moments in my life but doing that gave me a sense of I can do anything I put my mind to…something I needed at that point of my life.

Vegan Mini Mushroom Pies Copyright T Mason

A few days later the same client came back again and said they loved my pie so much they wanted it again but this time in mini portions. That time I did not rush the pie and today I am sharing my recipe with you.

Moral of the story…sometimes it is not your job to do something but if you know you can do it well …do it and do it well and do it because you want to do it.

Mini Mushroom Pies

by Taymer Mason

Makes 24 full pastry cups with lids

Pastry Dough

2 3/4 cups flour

2 sticks vegan butter ( I am using Earth Balance)

1 tbs sugar

1 tsp salt

1 cup ice-cold water

Method

Rub fat into flour and add sugar salt.

Add water and mix quickly and well.

Divide dough in 2 pieces and wrap in kitchen paper. Store in the fridge.

See tutorial for the rest of the method.

Mushroom Filling

2 heaping tbs vegan butter

2 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms chopped small

3- 4 shallots finely minced

heaping 1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain soy or almond mil

100 ml white wine

2 green onions white and green parts finely minced

2 tsp fresh thyme pulled

1 tsp minced fresh tarragon

1 heaping tbs dijon mustard (the good kind please if you can afford it)

I had just eaten a big brunch when I read this and the pictures somehow still made me hungry! This is exactly the kind of stuff I love to eat. Since going soy-free, mushrooms have played a more prominent role in my cooking. They are indeed such a great meat replacement in entrees for all the reasons you listed above. I can’t get enough.

I am not anti soy but I almost never eat soy anymore because I find other things to eat….I only eat oats in the morning made with water so I do not have any use for soy milk…I am smaller but I attribute that to my salad eating ways:)

Now fat free person,only someone greedy would stuff their face with 24 pastries..the co operative word here is pastry and it is an appetizer served as one with a salad…get off my blog and stop sending me s#$! for words to read . Though I respect your agenda I do not agree with how people demonize foods in the media…..one could be perfectly healthy indulging in small delights not American portion sizes.. America is fat due to this same agenda in the 80’s…had I made some sweet you wouldnt be on here and in my inbox writing me.

This is a recipe for a fairly large gathering, not something u pop in your face watching tv saying “But is vegan!” …get off it!

On Sun, Jan 29, 2012 at 1:50 PM, Taymer Mason wrote:

> these make over 24 tarts so dont get your panties in a knot..what > government are u referring to? > >

These look so pretty, I would be thrilled to serve them at a party! And re: the comments above… just because we’re vegan doesn’t mean we can’t ever indulge! I think that’s actually the thing that turns people off of veganism the most, the idea that its no frills, no fat, no sugar cooking. Vegan food can also be decadent and special-occasion appropriate, like these pies are!

Taymer, in my house, mushrooms are a food group unto themselves, so there’s plenty of room on the menu to have some in richer dishes sometimes. Looks like the fat quantity works out to 2 teaspoons each for your recipe, which seems just about right for a pastry-type appetizer. Maybe the hater was just having a bad day (no excuse, I know). At any rate, I’m looking at this for maybe Super Bowl if I can get my rear in gear early enough. I guarantee you my non- veg family members (which is all of them) would eat these!

I just so happen to visit this today, and I probably COULD eat all 24 in one sitting!
But to be reasonable, I would eat 2-3… okay, I should just eat 1… (hangs head in shame)
Who’s going to eat the other 23, there is only me in the house.

Thanks for every other informative website. The place else
could I am getting that type of info written in such an ideal approach?
I’ve a undertaking that I am just now running on, and I’ve been on the look out for such info.